#also i have no idea how long this infinity comic is going to go on this could just be like a tiny reunion which I'm not really opposed to

[kimberlyannharts]

So Darkest Hour is over, the MMPR main series has wrapped, so what do we do now? We......check out the adventures of this team led by a giant polar bear? Sure!

It's Power Rangers Infinity!

= For those who haven't seen the previews: our main character, Lola! She's cute, I like her a lot; even if admittedly BOOM has really been dishing out the Green Ranger girls one after another lately. (As for her last name being Navarro.....put in a pin in that for a second. Unfortunately it doesn't go where you might think it goes.)

= Obviously there's no way to prove it but moments like this kiiiiiind of feel like this was written back when BOOM figured they were finished with the PR license. It's a little too on the nose

= GIRL YOU LOOK SO GOOD

= Though I am a little annoyed because her lines here about looking for Lola for a long time made me think my theory that she was targeting her because she was related to Tyler/Shelby (or Poisandra just THOUGHT she was) was real. Unfortunately Lola's last name being Navarro isn't at all relevant (she targets Lola because she overhears that she writes PR fanfiction, so she wants Lola to make a weak team she can beat, it's a whole thing) so I guess in the end it was just an Easter Egg. I guess it's not too much of a surprise as this is set in "our" world rather than the Dino Charge world, but still, if you were going out of your way to pit a Dino Charge villain against a main character with the same last name as a Dino Charge character, you'd think that was leading up to something

= Group shot of the team! Along with the names, since I kind of skimmed my first reading and didn't retain them kjkdjf

= Also I just noticed Braylee's visor is shaped like a megaphone. That's cute

= Unfortunately the Poisandra Stan Society skipped out on PMC 2024. I totally would have gotten a picture with them otherwise

= Obviously as this is a one-shot book making gags out of the concept of "unlikely character archetypes as Power Rangers" the Infinity team members don't have the most complex personalities, but it's vital for you to know that the Pink Ranger, Penelope Prescott, is a lesbian. Anyway hot bear time

= I literally went into this book thinking the polar bear (Coach Kumo) would end up being a joke one-note "haha is that an ANIMAL as a ranger??" a la Yale but he actually ended up being my favorite character so uh. Yeah. Power Rangers Infinity did the whole "animal ranger" thing better than the main series. Make of that what you will

= And a look at the other teams. And okay, I'm just going to come out and say it; we did canonically have a pirate team in the show. I KNOW THEY DIDN'T DO PIRATE STUFF BUT I DON'T CARE, THEY STILL EXISTED, IT'S NOT AS OUTLANDISH AS THE HOCKEY BEAR UNIVERSE

= I do have to admit, for as much as this book tries to joke about how Poisandra isn't a threat and can't find a team weak enough for her to defeat, they're pretty casually talking about how she's basically committing mass genocide. Like their teams/universes are literally dead. I think that counts as beating them

= Proud of the book for not calling them "Paisley Force"

= your uber is here

= Anyway actual worst part of this book is it implies Poisandra took out Curio too which SHE WOULD NEVER DO!!!!!!! THAT IS HER BESTIE!!!!!!! Sledge getting her this ship is 100% in-character though

= Poisandra has committed mass murder and kidnapping but nothing compares to the evil of committing Lola to the path of customer service

= Still a better Green Ranger reveal than M/tt

= This silly one-shot parody comic sure has a lot of death in it

= speaking of death:

= MORE ONSCREEN DEATH THAN DARKEST HOUR IN THE ONE-SHOT GOOFY PARODY COMIC I'M GOING INSANE

= This is sweet and everything, but it kinda takes me back to how members of this fandom would uhhhh kinda harass the writers and BOOM about including their own ideas in the comic. (And the actors too. Firsthand witness to that at PMC 2024!) So to all up and coming writers and artists: please keep your submissions and pitches to professional settings

= see you, space cowboy...................

[sineala]

Steve/Tony Starter Comics Recs: 2023 Edition

I have been asked this month to talk about essential 616 Steve/Tony comics for a new reader, who is aware of the broadest strokes of their relationship (Civil War, Hickmanvengers) but wanted more context as well as recommendations for the best and/or most essential comics. [This is a repost from Patreon.]

First up, quick advice for newbies getting into Steve/Tony comics: I know there are thousands of comics and trying to figure out what to read is kind of like trying to drink from a firehose. It's going to be okay. You don't have to read everything. You're not going to read everything. Almost no one has read everything. A lot of things flat-out contradict each other. If you're looking to read fanfiction that is close to canon, most fic authors will generally give you an idea of when their stories are set, and you can look the issues up if you want. Or you can just wing it and see how far you get and look something up if you're really confused. That's what I do. Where do you find all these comics? If you are willing to pay money to access comics, the best thing you can do is subscribe to Marvel Unlimited, which is about $10/month and gives you digital access to pretty much every comic that is from more than three months ago. This is the way to go. They also have reading lists for characters and events. And they have recently introduced a line of comics called "Infinity Comics" that are only available though Marvel Unlimited that are designed to be read on your phone -- they're a single long comic that you just scroll through -- and as of right now they have just had a very fun Steve & Tony storyline in Avengers Unlimited. If you have a tablet, a regular-size tablet screen (mine is 9.7") will show you one page at a time, about the size of a regular page in a paper comic, and is definitely the optimal way to go. You can also read on your phone; most of the digital comics on Marvel's app are set up so it zooms in on a panel at a time. You can also read them on a computer, on their website, but the website version is much harder to use. There are a lot of different options for getting comics in paper -- and I'm happy to talk about them if anyone wants to know any of this, especially since some of the reprint lines have changed since the last time I probably made a guide about this. Just let me know. But I think for the newbie, digital is the way to go until you know more about what you like. Then you can fill your house with paper comics. If you are in the US (I cannot vouch for other countries), your local library almost certainly has comics in book form (usually paperbacks collecting multiple issues) and you can read paper comics for completely free. If your library subscribes to Hoopla, you can also read some digital comics for completely free. It's worth checking out. Right. I think that's probably all you need to know about acquiring comics for right now, so onto the recs. I have made some similar lists before. I have a list of essentials I previously made (yes, a lot of them are the same) and I have a flowchart of what the different volumes are. So a lot of this is going to be repeated from previous lists because the old stuff is still relevant. So, since the content will be similar, I thought I would arrange this a little differently than I've done previously, to liven this up. I feel like "best Steve/Tony comics" and "essential Steve/Tony comics" are separate lists with separate purposes, although some of the comics on the list overlap. There are a lot of comics with great Steve/Tony moments that we all love to read and share pictures of and so on and so forth. Like, "One Night in Madripoor." Great comic. A lot of fun. Would definitely recommend. But is it going to show up in fanfiction? Probably not all that much. It's just not a comic that inspires a lot of fic. So it's probably one of the best to read, but it's not essential to know. If you get what I'm saying. (The essential comics are generally also ones that are best to read, so it's really more of a subset/superset relation. Probably.) Okay, yeah, "essential" is basically the angsty shippy stuff and "best" is the fluffy cute shippy stuff. Essential Steve/Tony If you're coming from MCU fandom, the dynamic between 616 Steve, Tony, and the rest of the team may not be what you're expecting. They're not SHIELD's pet superhero project -- they in fact tend to have an uneasy and occasionally adversarial relationship with the government, for all that Tony originally founded SHIELD and Steve often works for them. The Avengers have existed in a world that's basically been full of weird shit for their entire adult lives, and so they've been dealing with it for their entire adult lives. They are seasoned professionals. They are also friends. You know all that 2012 Avengers MCU fic where the Avengers all live together and they eat meals together and they hang out and watch movies together? You know the fanon I mean? That's comics canon. People wrote MCU fic like that because that's exactly what the comics are like and everyone assumed it was going to be similar. The Avengers are also a little more structured than you may be expecting. They've got bylaws and procedures and -- when necessary -- courts-martial. It's also not a case of "Captain America always leads the team." He often does, but not always. He's not the team leader right now (Carol is; before her, it was T'Challa) and in fact he's not even on the team right now. When they started out, they actually rotated the position of team chair; the longest-serving chairs are Steve, Jan, and Natasha, in that order, but I think most of the major Avengers have had a turn at some point. Characters also leave and rejoin the team fairly often; it's unusual for the same lineup to persist for more than a couple years. So Steve's not there right now, but he probably will be again. It doesn't mean they're breaking up forever if someone leaves the team. They'll probably be back. If they're dead they'll also probably be back. The timeline's a mess but basically everyone was in their mid-20s when they started and is going to be in their mid-30s forever, for reasons that are too complicated to go into. So if you're looking for context, here's the best high-level overview I can come up with, focusing on Steve/Tony: The founding Avengers (Iron Man, Thor, Wasp, Ant-Man, and the Hulk, who is retroactively un-foundered) have all been doing the superhero thing on their own for a bit in their solo books when they team up to defeat Loki, decide that they work well together, and decide to form the Avengers (named by Jan). They all move into the mansion. The Hulk then quits the team basically for forever (if you're here from MCU fandom, you should know he's... really not an Avenger) and he disappears, and while the Avengers are out looking for him in a submarine, they instead find a block of ice, containing Captain America, who is miraculously alive. (Iron Man is the first person he sees and also the first person who speaks to him. Fandom likes this.) After saving the Avengers, Steve decides to join the team. The team only remains the same for about twelve issues, at which point all the other founding members decide they need a break while Steve is off on a mission and he gets back to find that they have left him three brand-new Avengers (Hawkeye, Scarlet Witch, Quicksilver), all of whom are career criminals. He's not real happy at first. The Avengers' roster changes many times over the years, and Steve and Tony are often but not always on the team together. Highlights in Tony's life include when he gets a heart transplant and no longer has to wear and charge the chestplate to survive, and also when he decides to stop making weapons. Steve quits and becomes Nomad for a few months while he gets over his feelings about the government, because the president of the United States has been conspiring with aliens to take over the world, and then commits suicide, shooting himself in the head right in front of Steve. Understandably, this messes Steve up more than a little. Steve and Tony first get a bit contentious in The Korvac Saga, in which Steve at one point punches Tony (well, Iron Man) in the face. They get over it pretty quickly. Tony develops a drinking problem. Then Tony gets sober, which lasts for a few years. In the intervening time Steve finds out Tony is Iron Man. Then Tony starts drinking again, it gets very bad, Steve is upset, and Tony nearly freezes to death in in a blizzard. Then he gets sober. At this point Tony has quit the main team to join the West Coast Avengers and then Force Works, where he stays for about ten years in real time. So he and Steve are on different teams for quite a while. Then Steve and Tony start to have fights. We get Armor Wars, where Steve disagrees with Tony trying to take back his technology, and we get Operation Galactic Storm, where they disagree about whether the main villain should die. Eventually they make up. They're still not on the same team. Eventually there's a massive plot that involves Tony being a brainwashed murderer, Tony being replaced by his teenage self, Tony dying in Steve's arms, and then everybody dying (except not really) while fighting Onslaught. They come back. Then we get a very nice run where basically Steve and Tony are friends and everyone is on the same team and everyone lives in the mansion and it's great, until Wanda loses her grip on reality, murders a few people, and blows up the mansion. Whoops. But Steve and Tony are still trying. They form the New Avengers together, move into the Tower, and everything is great until Civil War happens, at which point Steve gets killed (Bucky, who just came back to life, becomes Captain America) and Tony spends a lot of comics lying on the floor crying. Many bad things happen, including a Skrull invasion, which Tony doesn't really deal with as well as he could have on account of the lying on the floor crying. Eventually Steve comes back to life, and for Reasons, Tony develops amnesia and has now forgotten the entire Civil War. Steve remembers it, though. They don't immediately get back together. Things are a little rough and Steve isn't on the team because Bucky is still Captain America and Steve is off doing black ops with the Secret Avengers, which he is very bad at and is also depressed about, but eventually comes back, joins the Illuminati, gets the shield back, rejoins the team, and everyone generally has a good time other than the part where Tony has to drink to save the world and also the part where everyone punches the X-Men. Then the multiverse starts ending. Thanks, Jonathan Hickman. For reasons that seem like a good idea at the time, everyone kicks Steve off the Illuminati and then wipes his memory about this. Steve and Tony continue to be BFFs while Tony is lying his face off about this, until Steve remembers this and then attempts to hunt Tony down and kill him, which is complicated by Steve becoming suddenly old and deserumed and Tony becoming evil. Then the multiverse actually ends, a bunch of weird things happen, and then everything on Earth 616 comes back with basically the only difference being that Earth 616 now contains the Ultimate Universe's Miles Morales and the Ultimate Universe's Reed Richards who is a murderous psychopath. No one ever talks about the murdering or the part where the world ended ever again. After that, Tony is no longer evil, but Steve is still old. They aren't on the same team, I don't think -- Tony is main team, Steve is leading the Uncanny Avengers -- but then a Cosmic Cube makes Steve young again, which would be great except for the part where it secretly replaced him with an evil Hydra version of himself who then takes over America. This is a phenomenally unpopular move and this event ends much earlier than Marvel had planned. People tend to like this for villain AU purposes and also the AI version of Tony (because human Tony is in a coma). Also, oh, yeah, Tony finds out he's adopted. He found out a little before this, but now he's found his biological parents. Don't worry, his biological parents hate him too. We've spent the past five years having Jason Aaron's Avengers run which I don't think anyone really liked (it was okay) but at least Steve and Tony were both on the team, a couple of Cap runs with a lot of conspiracy theories in them (IMO, they've both been okay runs but not outstanding), and an Iron Man run where Tony gets addicted to morphine (do not read this run). Steve and Tony are on generally good terms at this point and have not tried to murder each other for years. (The brand-new Avengers run by Jed MacKay is really too new to say much about yet. The new Cap run hasn't started yet and will be by JMS, which I am excited about. The current Iron Man run by Gerry Duggan is absolutely the best IM run I have read in the past ten years.) So if any of that sounds interesting, that would be a place to start. If you're looking to familiarize yourself with comics that will give you the most context for fanfiction, I would recommend Civil War and surrounding events, as well as Hickmanvengers. This is because these two eras have a fair amount of fic about them and they have so much going on that's hard to figure out just by reading fic about it, and a lot of fic will be about the details. Whereas with something like Onslaught, it might get occasionally mentioned but you will probably never need to know anything more than "most of the Avengers died but they didn't really die and then they all came back a year later." So which comics exactly am I recommending, you ask? At some point you should probably read some version of Tony's origin story. The original is in Tales of Suspense #39, but there are a lot of retellings. Many people like the one in Extremis (IM v4 #1-6). Founding: The Avengers form up in Avengers v1 #1. Steve is found in Avengers v1 #4, and he and Tony are on the same team until Avengers #16. After that they are often both on the same team but this is the classic run with the founding Avengers. Heart transplant: This happens in Iron Man v1 #17-19 and Avengers #69. You probably don't actually need to read all this stuff to know what happens, but it's a great arc where a LMD tries to take Tony's place and Tony wanders around in the rain charging his heart from a car battery and then is kidnapped by people who think they are kidnapping the LMD and will train him to replace Tony. Weaponry: Tony stops making weapons in IM v1 #78. Nomad: Cap v1 #176-183. Steve isn't Nomad for very long. But he is in our hearts. Korvac Saga: This is Avengers #167-177. Demon in a Bottle: This is IM v1 #120-128. It's not actually the story whose events you think of when you think about Tony drinking (most people are probably thinking of the second drinking arc) but it is the storyline that first made him an alcoholic. Features Steve teaching Tony self-defense. This is by Layton & Michelinie who are responsible for a lot of fan-favorite classic IM arcs (this, Doomquest, Armor Wars, the introduction of Ghost, the Kathy Dare arc). Steve finds out Tony's secret identity: This is Avengers v1 #216. It involves Molecule Man stripping Tony out of his armor so he's standing there in his underwear. Second drinking arc: This one's the one with the blizzard. This is (most of) Denny O'Neil's run. It lasts from IM #160-200. Yes, it really is forty entire issues. Steve makes an appearance in #172 (the "flophouse" issue. where he has an argument with Tony). The blizzard is in #182. The rest of it is Tony trying to put his life back together. The villain in this one is actually Obadiah Stane; this is where he's from. This is probably my very favorite Iron Man run. I made a reading order for this. While you don't need a reading order for the main arc -- it's just a straight shot through forty issues of Iron Man -- it is referenced in other comics at the time and some of them contain scenes you might want to read. One issue that is not in that list (because I didn't know about it until recently) is Daredevil #204; Denny O'Neil was also writing Daredevil at the same time and he has a very drunk Tony make an appearance at a party Matt is at. Armor Wars: This is IM #225-232. The issue you actually want is #228, which is Steve and Tony having their first big fight. A bond is broken! Operation Galactic Storm: This is a crossover with about 20 issues across multiple comics; you can find a list somewhere. If you read fic where Steve is mad at Tony because Tony wanted to kill the Kree Supreme Intelligence, that's a reference to this arc. The easier option is to skip every issue in this except for the Aftermath issue, which is Cap #401, which features Steve and Tony discussing all the fights they've had. There are apologies. Kaminski IM: Len Kaminski's IM run is #278 to #318 and not all of it is great (however, if you are reading it, it's pretty easy to tell which parts are not great) but there's a lot of flashbacks here to Tony's childhood that often get referred to in fic; if a story has a canon detail about Tony's childhood, there's a pretty good chance it's from this run. 286 has the famed "Stark men are made of iron" flashback. 288, Tony's parents die and he buys the company that made their car and fixes the manufacturing defect. 313, the flashback with Tony taking his first drink, as a child. v3: I'd just like to issue a blanket recommendation for all of Avengers, Cap, and Iron Man volume 3 (this is the 1998 run). This is basically the very last of the classic Avengers dynamic, when everyone was still friends and lived in the mansion. Avengers v3: The first half of the Avengers run is by Busiek and Pérez and is, deservedly, a classic. The second half is perhaps a little less memorable but does contain Red Zone, which features everyone's favorite dramatic moment where Tony removes his helmet and exposes himself to a deadly airborne disease in order to give Steve CPR so Steve can live. No, don't think about the science; just enjoy the entire page of their mouths pressed together. Cap v3: I actually haven't seen much fic about the specifics of this Cap run (people will occasionally mention the part where Steve lost his shield and Tony helped him find the pieces) but it's by Mark Waid and in my opinion contains one of the best modern characterizations of Steve. IM v3: The first 25 issues of this is Busiek's run, which features both Carol's drinking arc and Sunset Bain's appearance in Tony's life. The rest of it has such great moments as the Sentient Armor arc (in which Tony's armor acquires sentience and then tries to kill him) and both DreamVision arcs, which are where Tiberius Stone is introduced. Civil War and surrounding events (CW, Secret Invasion, Dark Reign, Siege, Captain America Reborn): This is where I (and a lot of other people) started reading. There's a period of maybe two years of comics including the lead-in to Civil War (mostly the beginning of New Avengers v1 and the beginning of the Iron Man and Cap runs), Civil War itself, Steve's death, then the events Secret Invasion, Dark Reign, and Siege. Then Steve comes back to life. Even if you read none of the rest of this you absolutely have to read "Civil War: Casualties of War" and "Civil War: The Confession." The Confession is why we have a Steve/Tony fandom in the first place. I have a reading list for this, but please make sure to read those two comics. Avengers v4: The last of Bendis' Avengers runs (he started with New Avengers and then basically wrote every Avengers book for like seven or eight years); this is basically the story of Steve and Tony trying to figure out how to be friends again after Civil War. The era opens with Avengers Prime, which is a great miniseries featuring a truly epic Steve/Tony hug, and then about two-thirds of the run is Steve and Tony having screaming fights in front of all their friends, and then Steve gets to be Captain America again and rejoins the team and then everyone is friends until Hickman takes over. Hickman (Avengers v5 & New Avengers v3): The epic saga of Tony betraying Steve and then the entire multiverse ending. If you're going to read any of this, this is about 100 issues long and you have to read all of it in a very precise order (reading both series at the same time) or it will make almost no sense. Steve gets old. You probably will want to read Superior Iron Man, in which Tony is temporarily evil. Then the multiverse, in fact, ends. Then Secret Wars happens, but Steve and Tony aren't there. I also have a reading list for this run. Secret Empire and surrounding events (Standoff, Civil War II, Secret Empire): So after the multiverse stops ending (everything's fine, don't worry about it) and Tony stops being evil, we get the event Standoff, where Steve is young again but is secretly evil (he is replaced by a Hydra version of himself), and he continues being secretly evil throughout the events of Civil War II, which this time is Carol vs. Tony and Tony ends up in a coma. The one thing you will absolutely want to read is Civil War II: The Oath, an epilogue issue in which Steve villain-monologues at Tony's comatose body and tells him that Real Steve always loved him. Then Secret Empire happens, and Steve decides to be openly evil and take over America. Tony is an AI. Eventually Evil Steve is defeated and Real Steve comes back. I think that's about it for what Steve/Tony fandom considers to be important angsty events. There's been more recent good stuff, I promise, but it's all mostly been fluffy, in the sense that Steve and Tony haven't fought each other since then and nobody's died. I mean, not permanently. Best Steve/Tony (that isn't already essential) And now the fluff. I mean, it's not entirely fluff. I put 1872 on here. In my defense, I think a lot of the 1872 fic that gets written is fluff and/or fix-its. Tales of Suspense #58: Tales of Suspense, the comic book that Iron Man debuted in in #39, became primarily an Iron Man comic book for nearly twenty issues after that. But starting with #58, he shared the book with Captain America -- every issue from #59 to #99 (when the book ended) had one IM story and one Cap story, but not related to each other, just two separate stories in the same comic. The exception to this is #58 here, a story about both Steve and Tony, in which Steve is impersonated by the Chameleon. Tony at first thinks Steve is in trouble, and then he tries to chase him down -- but he ends up chasing the real Steve. Whoops. (This is one of the stories mentioned in Civil War: Casualties of War.) Tales of Suspense vol 2 #1 (1994 one-shot): Better known in fandom as "the azure eyes" issue, this is a Steve & Tony team-up where they've been on the outs for no reason I can determine but they have to work with each other and learn to be friends again. There are two pages that are Steve and Tony's interior monologues about each other and how they both think the other one is amazing and way better than them. (Tony is particularly fond of Steve's eyes, hence the fandom name for the issue.) Captain America & Iron Man 1998 Annual: This is technically part of my blanket v3 rec but I'd like to mention it specifically here. It's a standalone team-up issue where for Reasons, Tony decides to give Steve some amnesia, but they eventually make up and are friends again and it's very sweet by the end. Captain America & Iron Man: Invasion Force: This is an obscure internet-only team-up comic (you can find it on YouTube in four parts) which includes, among other things, Steve joking about Tony's dick and Tony, in response, offering to make Steve a sex tape. No, really. Captain America: Man Out of Time: This is generally my first rec to everyone; it's a modern retelling of Steve's origin story with some cute Steve/Tony moments and the addition of giving Steve a choice about whether to stay in the future. One Night in Madripoor: Technically, this storyline is Captain America & Iron Man #633-635; "one night in Madripoor" is on the cover of the first issue. This is some excellent Steve & Tony shenanigans in Madripoor with a lot of great banter. Avengers Annual vol 5: This is the annual from Hickman's run, but it's not by Hickman. It's a Christmas story and it's also the story that features the panel where Tony has made Steve's password "Captain Handsome." Avengers: Endless Wartime: The overall plot in this graphic novel is not at all what I would call fluffy but if you pretend that the only panel that exists is the one where Tony calls Steve "beloved" then it's pretty good. I don't recommend paying more than about five dollars for this. 1872: This is one of the AUs from Secret Wars, a Wild West world where Steve is the sheriff and Tony is the town drunk. Yes, I know 1872 is not fluffy. I know Steve is eaten alive by pigs in issue #2. However, there are some really sweet Steve & Tony moments in the first issue and I think most of the fic is a little softer than canon. Captain America/Iron Man (miniseries): This is a relatively recent (2021) team-up miniseries. Five glorious issues of Steve and Tony fighting villains, bantering, and also being really nice to each other. Avengers Annual 2021: This is the last annual in the Infinite Destinies annual series and it's basically "Steve and Tony hang out at home together and work out together and Steve feeds Tony his own breakfast and then they go fight a robot who makes them fight projections of each other because it knows they are weak for each other." Avengers Unlimited #52-54: Civil Score: New as of last month, this is a fun storyline where Steve and Tony attempt to steal a flash drive from the Serpent Society at a fancy party except they're both trying to get it before the other one does. (The very first issue of Avengers Unlimited is also worth a look, because it features Steve and Tony teaming up to fight Ghost and Taskmaster, and Taskmaster stops Steve's heart and Tony has to put Steve in his armor. It is some great h/c.) That's all I can think of! I'm sure I've missed some. I hope this gives you a place to start.

[aeterna-auroral-avenger]

STORY TIME!

This story has been in the works quite literally since I drove home from the cinema after watching Infinity War. It started off as a fix-it, no matter what the MCU outcome would be, and then I watched Endgame and made my fix-it cover as many cracks in that story as I could.

Personally, I like my idea waaaaaaay better. No, I'm not biased, what?

Jump down the rabbit hole with me, my friend because I'm going to infodump so much on you. I will try to keep it brief, but I already can feel it's not gonna happen because I'm so excited to share this story. So apologies in advance @sobeautifullyobsessed

In the comics, there are actually seven stones not six due to some god-like entity with the power of Infinity committing suicide out of loneliness. As a result of this act, the entity split into the six stones we know plus the Ego Stone which holds the entity's psyche; however, that stone was lost to an alternate reality somehow.

I hate the Ego Stone part, but I saw great potential with the idea of seven stones however.

Let's start at the very beginning. After the creation of the universe, the Creator saw it was good and presented it with gifts: Stones that controlled certain elements of the universe. Sometime after, who knows how long after, a secret organization of beings from across the universe banded together to protect the stones and make sure their powers would not be abused. But there was one among them who sought a Stone he wasn't meant to keep. He stole it, killed the Stone's keeper, and used its power to flee. But he was unworthy and unable to handle the Stone's power, and it killed him. But since he fled, the Stone was lost to an alternate reality. Ours. The Stone in question? Light: a power that seems to encompass all the rest of the Stones' powers while also keeping its own. (it may be mary sue-ish but idc)

The rest of this band of protectors searched in vain, but alas, the Stone could not be found. The band was disbanded, and the Stones were spread far and wide for safe keeping. Agamotto was one of the last of this band, and only he had been successful in doing what the rest could not.

And the Light Stone was lost to time and history in their reality. In ours, the Stone grew dormant and even depressed as it searched the future for a way to return to its universe. And it found one in the form of a baby not yet born. Seeping from its Stone casing through the expectant mother, the powers of the Stone lay waiting for the time this baby would bridge realities to get it back home.

Jump ahead to 14 months before Infinity War, and Dr. Strange finds himself wounded and in his attempt to return to his own dimension, he accidentally finds himself in ours where a young woman named Aurora (or Rory to her friends) manages to tend to his wounds and take care of him so he could return home when he was ready. An unlikely friendship arose, and in return - especially after hearing how our reality views his - he gave her a gift: a sling ring and the lessons needed to use it properly. It took some effort, but eventually it clicked. Now she was free to come and go as she chose.

In the time Rory spent wandering their reality, she had successfully wove her way into a world and friendships she believed she wasn't supposed to have but would take anyway (this was well before I learned the consequences of multiverse meddling so I'm going to ignore such things. They don't exist).

Rory was in our dimension when Thanos began taking Infinity Stones, and her unknown connection with them made her hear voices in her head: the Stones begging for help and rescue. And when Dr. Strange peers into so many futures in a desperate hope to find victory, he does find one. The lost Stone residing in none other than his friend from the other dimension. Who was now also stuck in said other dimension. And he had to make sure there was a way to get her back to theirs. Which also required making sure Scott Lang is in the Quantum Realm before Thanos laid the devastating blow.

When all that occurs as the Master Chessplayer devised, he used what last bit of magic he had before turning to ash to do two things: appear to Rory and assure her the task she would find herself taking on would be one she could do, despite it all, and appear to Scott in the Quantum Realm and lead him to a Quantum vortex leading to the right dimension to get Rory (who he insisted was vital to winning) and lead her back to their dimension before that vortex closed again for another 100 years. Success.

The problem with working in the Quantum Realm though is once Scott and Rory get back to the right dimension, two years have passed (screw the five year gap). The pair make their way to the Avengers compound, and Scott has been devising a plan the whole way there. Once the remaining Avengers give them all the full story, Scott explains how Strange put a lot of emphasis on Rory’s importance, much to her chagrin. But he and Bruce convince the rest that Strange’s way is the way to go considering they’ve seen how legit he is. Scott gives his first plan: the time heist, and Rory, who has heard Strange speak of the wonders and dangers of Time, said absolutely not.

Then Scott came up with plan number 2: a Quantum Heist. A dangerous plan to send all of them and Thanos to the Quantum Realm where the Infinity Stones would be rendered useless and the playing field would be leveled. The reason why the Stones still exist is because in this story, Thanos needs all the Stones to destroy them. Since he did not, he could not do that even though he tried, rendering him weaker than before.

In the process of everyone working on making sure this plan would actually work, some plot things happen. Rory discovers what she possesses and what her infinite heritage is, uses that power to restore Mjolnir and remind Thor he's still worthy, and test her newfound powers in the Quantum Realm to make sure those Infinity powers really would be useless.

But there was a problem during testing. Rory accidentally fell into one of those Quantum vortexes which led her to a time and place where she meets (and has a philosophical debate with) Thanos himself. Too little too late, she realizes she is not in the same Time she left and Thanos learns there will be a group to go against him in his quest with her at the lead with the power he wants most of all.

She manages to get back, but now the Avengers know Thanos will be waiting for them which will make the job extra challenging. Not only that, but Thanos is rebuilding his army just for confronting them. So they have to cut him off from his army to get him alone and then get him to the Quantum Realm via the bifrost through Thor's axe. By some miracle, they manage to do not only that, but get the Stones from Thanos in the Quantum Realm too! But he escapes them before they could finish him off, and they use the Quantum Tunnel built in Endgame to return to the compound in the right time and space.

Bruce snaps his fingers, reverting himself back to Bruce/Hulk instead of Professor Banner, right at the time Thanos unleashes his attack on the compound.

Cue the epic portals scene plus one human woman with the blazing powers of Light at her disposal. Major fighting ensues, and mostly everything plays out similarly but Strange knows one extra thing the rest do not. Tony is still meant to snap his fingers, and he will survive as long as Rory helps him carry the burden of the Stones. And with milliseconds to spare, Rory gets to Tony in time. The only real casualty on the heroes' side is Rory takes a lot of the damage from the snap, leaving Tony with lightning scars on his arm. Strange, Shuri, and Dr. Cho take care of her injuries.

So the war is over, and it's a happy ending, right? Not yet. The universe is very scarred and weary from such a war, and it needs a jumpstart. It needs an outpouring of love to heal such wounds. And using the power of all the Stones, Rory manages to do something pretty incredible. She came from a universe of untapped love for the marvel universe, and she acts as a catalyst, a bridge between universes for all that outpouring of love to go right to where it needs to go. And like a great tidal wave, the love and devotion of the fans practically floods that universe, giving it the medicine and jumpstart it needs to move forward like the Infinity War never occurred.

But the cost of such an act was high, and the Infinity Stones were returned to their Creator. Forever. Rory was allowed to live, and since the Light powers were basically fused with her soul, remnants of said power were left behind. Only time will tell if it will be useable or not as she heals.

And that is a rather large synopsis of my Endgame rewrite.

[thedrunkenreadersreviews]

A thought on the Loki series finale.

Oh, we are gonna need something strong for this one. Excuse me while I pass on the Scandinavian mead and just reach for my old pal Jack for this one.

*long sip*

One of my biggest regrets in life is not going to the theater to watch the first Thor film upon its release and, instead, waiting to eventually pirate the movie online. The reason for this is that Loki was my favorite Marvel character and I had no idea who the hell Tom Hiddleston was. So afraid was I that he would not portray Loki properly or that the writers would botch his story had me hesitant.

And then I saw it. And I was blown away by Tom's performance, as most people were.

*Sip, sip*

So I stuck around, enjoyed the MCU, watching it expand, following my favorite character around, and adored how the comics were realizing just how much of a tragic, triumphant story Loki could be and putting him through an incredible arc throughout the pages (Kieron Gillen & Al Ewing were exceptional Loki comic book writers!).

*Long sip, sip*

And then ... there was Infinity War.

*Long sip, sip*

I knew it was coming. That's what every writer does when they have a character they can take no further. Just kill them. Marvel was no different. They killed Loki, albeit, giving him a hero's death and that was that.

Like Thor, I mourned. I grieved, I cried, I sat in pain. I returned to the comics to feel comfort, to know that at least there he was still going and his story was getting better and better. It brought me peace.

And then I am informed of the Loki series and I celebrate. I had never been so excited for a TV show my entire life.

There is a chance, I thought, that he could come back! That he will return! After all, Loki is his most powerful in the comics. The God of Stories, can alter realities, step through the multiverse. He is incredible! He is also able to call on variants of himself, they being a part of him, like it is amazing and I was hoping they would give Loki a similar power in the MCU.

*Sip, sip*

And they did!

Loki became the God of Stories ... but at what price?

*Long sip, sip*

You see, for me, it is something much more heartbreaking than what happened in Infinity War. It is something far more tragic than that.

Sacred timeline Loki has the peace of death. He can walk to the gates of Valhalla, be reunited with his mother, his father, and one day even Thor. There is a comfort in that, knowing that yes, he is dead but he is at peace.

Variant Loki ... Variant Loki ...

*Downs the glass, pours another*

There is a finality in forever. There is, as Mobius says, no comfort in it. It is a burden. A glorious purpose, but a burden.

What hurts the most is this:

Since Thor 1, Loki has said that he never wanted a throne.

Only Mobius, B15 (Verity), OB, Casey, and Sylvie know. They know what he gave.

Since season 1, Loki has said that the thing that frightens him the most is him being alone.

Since Infinity War, Loki promised Thor that the sun would shine on them again.

What hurts the most is that Variant Loki, God of Stories Loki, is now burdened with a throne. That he made a sacrifice much larger than death. And only his friends know. That he is now entirely, truly, forever alone and does not even have the promise of death to give him comfort. There is no death for him. There is no peace, there is no end. It is eternity. It is forever and there is such a finality to forever.

And the sun shines down on Thor in every universe, it shines on other Lokis too. It shines on the people of Asgard, on Mobius, on New York, on everyone in every universe.

Loki kept his promise to Thor, and no one will know.

And while I know Mobius is mourning as we all are---feels like the TVA isn't home anymore, wanting to look because of what Loki did just so he could have the choice to look---I hope he takes the chance that Loki gave him and lives. I hope he buys the jet ski, rides it down the Hudson River. I hope that when he feels the wind in his hair, the water splashing his face, and the warmth of the sun shining down on him, when he is at his happiest and living, that in those moments, he thinks of Loki and smiles. Because I know that Loki would not want Mobius to take the chance he gave him to mourn Loki forever. I know that Loki will watch those moments of Mobius smiling and living, and he'll smile too, and in seeing Mobius taking the chance Loki gave him, making it mean something, that is the peace that Loki can receive. That is the comfort.

*Downs glass*

This ending ... it hurt so much more than Infinity War. I have never felt this way about a character's story. Am I happy with it? No.

Would I change it?

No.

This ending, this sense of grief unlike before, this mixture of elation and bereavement is drowning but incredible. It is the ending that Loki does not deserve but accepts, and that is why I wouldn't change it.

Loki finally became what he has been to me and to several fans of the MCU and Marvel as a whole. What he was always meant to be.

Loki finally became the heart of the MCU. And though we may never see him again---which now I find I oddly prefer---we will know that he is there, between the branches, watching, protecting, beating, and making sure that each and every story gets told.

[jackieparty]

mcu if thorbruce

hi. i love thorbruce and I think it would be a pretty cool move to have them get together, so I rewrote the plot for all the movies that they are in from the first thor to love and thunder. i don’t want to write it into a full fanfic because i’m lazy (this will be a recurring theme), but nonetheless i still wanted to share my ideas. 

i know a lot of things either don’t make sense and there’s a lot of plotholes, so I’m not looking for critique, but I would love to hear if anyone has any ideas on what they would want to do with the mcu in their hands. 

i am in no way condemning fanfic writers who have the energy to write long, thoughtful fanfics, i am simply not able to do that myself, but i do love sharing my ideas. don’t read if you don’t want to read; simple as that.

timeline we rockin with: 

thor 

the incredible hulk 

avengers 

thor: the dark world

avengers: age of ultron

thor: ragnarok 

avengers: infinity war 

avengers: endgame 

thor: love and thunder

THOR

needs better writing but otherwise this goes off pretty much unchanged. jane and thor still get together etcetcetc

THE INCREDIBLE HULK

mark ruffalo

we lean into bruce banner being a total dick, like he is in the comics, before becoming hulk in the movie

betty can be in the story, just not as a love interest, i am sick of all marvel origin movies having similar romantic plotlines

after the accident and being chased away, he pretty much does a 180 (he’s always a whore in the comics but heroes are likable) and learns how to end the cycle of abuse from his father while also not doing that at all. the result is a more empathetic and kind Bruce but at the same time 1000% more depressed and unstable. he cuts ties with everyone he knew in the film and runs away to kalkota, partially because the us government is after him and partly because he wants to start over and do some good, a sad attempt at fixing all of his wrongs both as the hulk and as shitty bruce banner

not sure if i like this idea but maybe he goes by "robert" until the very end where he thinks going by bruce means hes completely changed

AVENGERS

mostly unchanged

bruce's monologue about trying to die is the focus

more uncertainty and push back from thor about loki just to make dark world even more angsty

THOR: THE DARK WORLD

mostly unchanged

i'm lazy and don't want to watch the movie, but if there isn’t a real breakup scene between thor and jane, have jane explicitly break up with him, kinda unannounced and abrupt. thor makes the promise here to always protect her even when they’re apart right before she leaves

pt two i'll take on age of ultron and some others <3

[venator-arts]

infinity stone are hearts of kyber

hey yall this is an explanatory post for my new fic infinity stones are hearts of kyber (pls check it out) based on this comic

if you're interested, please go read the fic first as thing contains spoilers

SPACE

Characters:

Obi-Wan Kenobi power: teleportation via knock-off World Between Worlds; can teleport as long as he can see/has an idea of where he needs to go; lightsaber will always return to closest ally attunement moment: seeing Qui-Gon stabbed

Planets/beings connected:

Lothal Loth Wolves Purgill

MIND

Characters:

Plo Koon power: enhanced battle meditation; stronger connection between him and those he is close to; gains memories of each of his men; because of this connection, he feels deaths in the force a lot stronger attunement moment: the malevolence

Rey power: psychometry; she connects with the minds of those who held/used the object, can understand some of the thoughts they may have had attunement moment: completing her lightsaber (which is actually a lightsaber staff cause i think thats cool)

Planets/beings connected:

Jedha - Holy City for Jedi; jedi hold mind stone in high esteem Father - idk man i included the other two and he fit the vibes; my notes say "Father is mind (yuh)"

POWER

Characters:

Mace Windu power: shatterpoint (i dont need to say more) attunement moment: learning shatterpoint

Planets/beings connected:

Coruscant - in the core of the planet from the old sith temple (sith love power) and the reason why a city planet hasn't collapsed Son - the dark side of the force

REALITY

Characters:

Palpatine power: reality manipulation (helps him with all his evil sith things) attunement moment: idk do we really know anything abt this man

Maul power: went mad from being chopped in half and teleported to a random planet and holding onto a Shard that he wasn't attuned to; later allowed him to see through palpatine's plan

Planets/beings connected:

Mortis - self-explanatory Mortis gods - all three are connected in the loosest sense while having stronger connections to other stones

TIME

Characters:

Qui-Gon Jinn power: able to learn force ghost things; can look into certain significant events (eg. his death) attunement moment: ambiguous, i think it happened along the way

Yoda power: visions; extension of life attunement moment: Force Priestess saying he can learn from Qui-Gon how to ghost

Luke Skywalker power: visions of past, present and future attunement moment: healing a bleeding crystal (this bit is canon from comics i looked it up)

Planets/beings connected:

Takodana and Maz Kanata - Maz is the guardian of the stone that is in the planet's core (it's why she's so incredibly old) and time moves different in pockets of the world which i made up Morai - lil green owl that follows ahsoka, led ezra to find her in the World Between Worlds

SOUL

Characters:

Cal Kestis power: psychometry/force echoes; connects with the souls of the people using the object (also i play him with an orange saber cause i think its cool) attunement moment: collecting his crystal on Ilum

Planets/beings connected:

Vormir and Red Skull - only actual crossover with mcu cause i couldn't be bothered to think of a planet that fit Daughter - gave her soul to save ahsoka

[doctorofmagic]

All we know so far about the new Doctor Strange series

It’s been a while since the new volume was announced but now we have the full solicitation and more covers for issue #1.

Written by Jed MacKay and drawn by Pasqual Ferry, the story will be “centered around a shocking mystery that strikes at the very heart of Strange’s legacy and purpose”. The series will pay homage to the “hero’s psychedelic and otherworldly storytelling, taking readers to places only Strange would dare to go and introducing enemies only he could hope to defeat, including a brand-new threat that Strange shares a personal connection with.”

The new uniform was redesigned by Alex Ross himself.

He also did the art for the main cover to promote the series, which is a homage to Frank Brunner’s cover for the Treasure Edition, as well as this pin-up.

“It's been really exciting to have the opportunity to not only continue exploring the magical side of the Marvel Universe with the inhabitants of 177A Bleecker Street, but to follow the lives of the Stranges as the last year and a half has put them through the wringer. Pasqual has been putting together a truly magical book, and I'm super psyched to show people what's in store for Stephen and Clea Strange—and of course, we won't be giving them any time off after recent events..." MacKay says.

“When I started working for Marvel a long time ago, there were three comics I had always wanted to draw: FANTASTIC FOUR, SPIDER-MAN, and DOCTOR STRANGE,” Ferry said. “Why Doctor Strange? Because his stories include all the elements I love as an artist—the fantasy, science fiction, and imagination. Above all, the fact that I could look at Steve Ditko’s work as a reference really motivates me! When he drew Doctor Strange, all the utopian and imaginary sceneries  were incredible. So this is a very special moment in my career, and I’m looking forward to seeing where the character is going to take us with this new narrative. I know a lot of artists, including myself, consider Doctor Strange a challenge, like there is a need to add something new to the character because it offers you that possibility. For me, Doctor Strange is a big challenge, but I embrace it.”

[Source]

Doctor Strange #1

JED MACKAY (W) • PASQUAL FERRY (A) • Cover by ALEX ROSS MARVEL ICON VARIANT COVER BY STEFANO CASELLI VARIANT COVER BY MARCO CHECCHETTO STORMBREAKERS VARIANT COVER BY MARTIN COCCOLO INFINITY SAGA PHASE 3 VARIANT COVER BY STEVE SKROCE TIMELESS DORMAMMU VIRGIN VARIANT COVER BY ALEX ROSS TIMELESS DORMAMMU VIRGIN SKETCH VARIANT COVER BY ALEX ROSS CHANGE YOUR REALITY! Stephen Strange is back! Reunited with Clea and Wong, it's back to business as usual for the Sorcerer Supreme. Have your children fallen into a deep nightmarish slumber? Are demonic refugees invading your home? Is your husband possessed by a satanic entity? Then call Doctor Strange! Join Jed MacKay (MOON KNIGHT, BLACK CAT) and Pasqual Ferry (NAMOR: CONQUERED SHORES, SPIDER-MAN: SPIDER'S SHADOW, THOR) as they begin a new chapter in the life of the Master of the Mystic Arts! 40 PGS./Rated T+ …$4.99

---

Now, my personal view. It’s Jed MacKay, so of course I know it’ll be good. Stephen and Clea are in good hands for SURE. It does feel, though, that the series will be focused on classic comics’ style, from Ditko to Brunner. Now, I do love Brunner’s art, it’s one of my favorite DS artists. But I’m not entirely convinced by the new design, especially for modern days. I’m not too familiar with Ferry’s art either, but as always, I’ll wait and see how it goes.

As for the story, am I concerned about who’s the person close to Stephen doing questionable things? Yes. I don’t have any idea of who they might be, though, but I do hope it doesn’t ruin the affection I have towards these characters.

Overall, I’m just glad that Stephen is back and he's reunited with Clea, Wong and Bats. Now I can expect way more cameos and team-ups, which makes me waaaay happier n.n it was a tough year for fans. I really love hurt/comfort, but boi, the comfort part is taking too long!!

PS: I see these MCU/MoM references and I despise them.

[sepia-stained-sunset]

20 questions for fic writers

Thanks for the tag @cephalog0d💕

1. How many works do you have on AO3?

27

2. What's your total AO3 word count?

79, 130!! (I wayy underguessed before I checked)

3. What fandoms do you write for?

DC (specifically the Batfam), but I do occasionally write for any piece of media that catches my eye

4. What are your top 5 fics by kudos?

Chaos; An Unfortunate Universal Constant , Play Stupid Games, Win Stupider Little Siblings , Keep My Body From The Fire , Days I Have Held (Days I Have Lost) and Infinity Times Infinity Times Infinity in that order (No surprises there honestly. I, too, am a fan of batfam shenanigans first and foremost)

5. Do you respond to comments?

No, but I do read every single one and I cherish them all<333 They make my day🫶

6. What is the fic you wrote with the angstiest ending?

This one's tough because I'm a sucker for happy endings so I try and drive the characters towards them (or towards some semblance of them), but I guess either The Longing Will Outlive or Where All Things Are Silent because I like my Brutalia angsty with a side of emotional hurt.

7. What's the fic you wrote with the happiest ending?

All That Remains but because it was my take on Damian and Dick trying to reach out to each other when they first started as Batman and Robin, I'd say the ending is more hopeful than happy, but also considering who we're talking about, that's about as close to happy as they'll get probably

8. Do you get hate on fics?

Not really, or if there is any, I've never seen it (and I'm happy to leave it that way!)

9. Do you write smut? If so, what kind?

Nope

10. Do you write crossovers?

No. I'd never say never, but both reading-wise and writing-wise they don't really appeal to me.

11. Have you ever had a fic stolen?

Not that I know of, so hopefully no?

12. Have you ever had a fic translated?

No, but I would be beyond excited if any were!!

13. Have you ever co-written a fic before?

Nope, but I'd love to, especially if it's with a friend:)

14. What's your all-time favorite ship?

Brutalia. As evidenced by my Tumblr blog and the fact that I never shut up about them

15. What's a WIP you want to finish but doubt you will?

Oh let's not even go there...

16. What are your writing strengths?

I honestly have no idea. I'd like to say descriptions and metaphors, because those are the things that draw me to other people's works, so I'd love to think that I have a similar strength.

17: What are your writing weaknesses?

Oh too many to count!! The worst is probably that I can't sit down to write unless my brain thinks I'm in the Goldilocks-zone for writing, which occurs pretty infrequently, because my brain also likes to keep handing me new goalposts to determine the 'perfect' time.

18. Thoughts on writing dialogue in another language in fic?

For languages I speak, as a reader, it breaks my immersion completely when there's a language-switch in the fic unless it's something I expected from the start. I have a similar problem as a writer too, since translating in your brain quick enough to keep ahold of dialogue ideas is a real pain, so I try and avoid it as far as possible.

19. First fandom you wrote for? 

Batfam, because I looked at the thousands upon thousands of comics they have available and I thought 'hmm..my blorbos need to appear in more content'

20. Favourite fic you've written?

Oh boy...probably Infinity Times Infinity Times Infinity because I wrote it in a series of perfect afternoons and it's the fic that made me happiest after I finished (although I have been informed that the fic itself is a tear-jerker)

No pressure tags for @love-laugh-daydreamarevolt, @roseandgold137 and anyone else who wants to join in<3

[spectralarchers]

@crisis-response-specialist tagged me in a "Fic authors self rec! When you get this, reply with your favorite five fics that you've written, then pass on to at least five other writers. Let’s spread the self-love ♥️"

so here goes:

"Nothing Burns like the Cold" is my absolute favorite fic that I've ever written. It's only about 45k long, but the journey of figuring out all the historical things for a fic which had a setting of "Hawkeye goes to Greeland with the Sirius Patrol to find Captain America" was such an incredible one. I love this fic so much too because the friendship between Steve Rogers and Clint Barton got really cemented in my head here. It's just such a wonderful, down to earth, fic and I wish I could make an actual comic book based on it because the illustrations of Greenland in my mind... *chef's kiss*

"Swallow Your Soul" is my second favourite fic I've written, and it's also the longest thing I've ever spit out, bonging out at 114k. I still have no idea how the hell that monster of a fic became so big as it was, I only remember thinking that I needed to write something set between Age of Ultron and Civil War with Ronin as a focus. One of my favorite characters in this story is actually Buck Chisholm, whom I pictured in the likeness of Woody Harrelson as I was writing, and Barney, of course.

"Five Times Clint Barton Spoke with Steve Rogers about Growing Old and the One Time He Didn't" is my third favourite thing I've ever written, and it's one of those short 6k fics I've written punctually. The reason why this fic means so damn much to me is because older Steve Rogers in the story is based so much on my own grandfather. I loved that man so very much, and his life was so full of anecdotes and experience, and I wrote this fic in May of 2019. My grandfather passed at the age of 93 in August of 2019, and even though I miss him every single day, whenever I read this fic again, I am reminded of how kind he was and how I apparently managed to transform some of my fondest memories of my grandfather into old man Steve Rogers.

"'til the skies bleed ashes" is my 2019 NaNoWriMo, which came out at a grand total of 84k words. It's what I imagined would have canonically happened after Infinity War, before Endgame came out and surprised all of it. I remember the kicker being "what if Clint became Director of SHIELD after Fury got dusted?" and then sprinkling some Ronin on top of that, and trying to make things work out. One of my absolute favourite scenes I've ever written is from this fic, and it's the one where Thor is given the heart-shaped herb from Ramonda and T'Challa and goes to his home in Bilskirnir and sees his family together before being brought back to the battlefield atop Sleipnir, flanked by Valkyrie on her Pegasus, Hela on Fenris and Carol Danvers glowing in the sky. Sending the personification of death from the MCU after Thanos made the most sense to me, since that's what he went after in the comics.

"a mausoleum fit for me" is my only non-Marvel fic on this list, but it is my second longest fic ever, at 104k. I remember watching The Old Guard in 2020 and being absolutely mesmerized by this sad, depressed French immortal, and thinking "I have to dissect how he came to be" and originally, the story was going to follow him throughout his life. Eventually, I decided to make a cut by (spoiler alert) Booker's first death in Russia and then continue the rest of the story post-immortality in another fic, which is how this monster of a fic happened. I had my entire living room plastered with post-its and dates and events and someone once told me that "they learned more about the French Revolution through this fic than they did at school" and that's about the greatest compliment anyone could ever give me.

I'm going to send some asks around, but if you feel like self-reccing based on this, consider yourselves tagged <3

[kayvsworld]

Hadn't seen those articles, just the comment about letting the audience speculate and not confirming one way or the other until Armor Wars. Definitely seems like they're testing the waters to see which they'll go with. Wonder how Don Cheadle feels about this since I doubt this was in the works during Infinity War/Endgame, and could back track his character arc. Martin Freeman in the second article said he hoped Ross wasn't a Skrull for long since he didn't want to have played Ross as a Skrull before this.

oh 100% big noncommittal "let's see if people think this is so so cool or if they throw a brick through the windows of marvel hq" energy which is like. COWARD if you're going to have catastrophically bad & disrespectful ideas then have the guts of joss whedon and commit to your shitty bit, thank you. i ALSO highly doubt this has been in the works for longer than the lifespan of secret invasion itself, so i would ALSO be very interested in knowing how mr. cheadle feels about his character being retroactively removed from the plot of the movies he was in, for alien drama, because. hi. what

though from what little i've heard of comics this seems to follow in the time-honoured comics reader tradition of "the writer of this run developed a god-complex mid-issue and introduced an idea so stupid that it has been either retconned out of existence or ignored by the fandom at large" so. congrats to marvel for bringing that experience to the small screen?

[jaybleeps]

Season 7 episode 5 spoilers

I’m sorry, excuse me but what just happened?

Don’t get me wrong, it was amazing, I couldn’t take my eyes off of the screen. This is probably just gonna be my thoughts on the episode.

Evil Morty

He got his backstory! Yippe! Not that I really needed it nor didn’t want it. It’s nice to see how his backstory is formatted in the same way as C137’s.

I wonder if Evil Morty’s mentality broke faster than other Mortys, or it’s because his Rick didn’t use the mindblower’s enough to keep him in line, or maybe it’s just the way he is.

Evil Morty describing the “horrors of the infinity” as “another day in paradise”. He’s really content with where he’s at right now. Also he definitely can handle dangerous situations on his own, might I even say, better than Rick (?).

This makes me worry. It’s fair that Evil Morty doesn’t want a friend right away. The boy must have a LOT of trust issues, and undoubtedly wants to go solo nowadays. Though the idea of escaping the shackles of your predetermined fate, have and CAN do anything you want, but is ultimately alone. The idea of Mortys unable to make friends. Through that is the link between yourself and the destiny you’re trying to break away from. (I am reading waaaay into this than it needed to be, still its a cool angst prompt)

Every time Rick shoot at Evil Morty, I cackled. It’s such a silly gag. A tiny detail I notice from Evil Morty is whenever he goes “mhmm” and “uh-huh”.

Evil Morty being an independent person, tackling problems head-on, staying calm and responsive, that I wished Morty Prime to be.

Morty Prime

I think everyone is on the same page with him this early in the season. He’s being sidelined. I suppose it’s because Marta and the others are still trapped in the Roy machine.

Furthermore, I also think Morty’s there to be a comic relief, a character that the audience can relate how confusing and exciting this ‘whole Rick and Mortys vs Rick Prime’ is. Like look at how happy Morty is after the fiasco, similar to us viewers (or some viewers, I was flabbergasted at the end).

Ex:

Evil Morty: The biggest turd is a pizza.

Morty: How is the biggest turd a-a pizza??

What are you guys trying to do? Catch him like a small wild animal? like a pokemon??

Overall, Morty is a nice relief from this stressful episode.

Rick Prime

On my first watch, I was confused on why they just ended Prime that quickly (assuming that they did kill him off). Then after some careful considerations, I figured that: They want to end it ASAP in order to focus on character development, or to go back to Rick and Morty classic episodes with a tint of character growth, which is fine with my standards, since this show is called Rick and Morty, it should focus on those two and equally so as well.

Though I’m quite disappointed that they end him like that, or at least direct us to that idea. He has as little screen time as Evil Morty.

But I’m delusional and can’t let my psychotic husband go just yet. There’s always that clone tube, cameos in hallucinations, dreams, maybe AI Prime’s voice installed in some gadget? I need to cope with the slight chance of never seeing Prime ever again so I don’t be get my hopes up and get disappointed in the long run.

The scene where Rick Prime got beaten up by C137 was phenomenal. I’m sure people can use their literacy skills to take it apart nicely, but I’m going to give you my uncensored opinion of it: They’re both so hot omg omg, they’re so gay dangggg, two men kissing will be less homoerotic than whatever they have.

I’m not gonna give any opinions on Rick C137 since I think many excellent posts have already perfectly encapsulated that.

Though I gotta say: Is Rick’s path now going to be similar to Simon Petrikov? Finding purpose again? Will the journey to be fulfilled be assisted by Morty?

S7E5 is fast paced and escalated quicker than I imagine, which reminds me of the time I saw Rick potion #9. Both episodes are ones that will impact heavily the future from now on, the turning page.

[burningfudge]

Yay! Okay, so I was reading the Spider-Punk comics recently, and I found out that in the comics, Hobie knows both Kamala Khan and Riri Williams, and they’re his band mates. And I know you most likely won’t incorporate into the story (nor do you have to of course), but I just find the idea of Hobie meeting Kamala and Riri (from 727) and being baffled about how different they are to his home’s versions of them (more likely Kamala, cause she’s just a sweet bundle of sunshine).

It’ll also be interesting to see the characters from Earth 727 react to the fact that the designation of “Earth 616” is wrong, and is actually Earth-199999.

I also bet their gonna question Miguel and the Society about where they were when all these other Multiversal threats appeared (and were thankfully defeated), like Wanda and Infinity Ultron (but mostly Infinity Ultron).

I feel like Miguel is also going to object to them trying to change their “canon” events. But then, why would the Watcher bring all of them there, y’know? Unless it was to show the other spiders (and Miguel especially) that the whole “canon” defense is a bunch of crap, and was just his way of dealing with his grief (they’re gonna have a field day with his backstory I tell ya). Not to mention to bring them all together to show them how big of a threat Kang and his variants are, and to help each other stop these smaller threats in their way, like Thanos, Arthur Harrow, Gorr, fucking Tiamet emerging from the planets core and destroying Earth (the society is gonna lose their minds learning about the realms outside the Spiderverse and all of this wild stuff).

I also talked previously about the theory that glitching is caused by technology rather than just being in a different dimension, while using magic, a thing that’s been around since the beginning and is more natural (rather than tech which is “created” in a sense) prevents glitching. And since it’s gonna be a bit until we get Beyond the Spiderverse and that whole explanation, it could be a good explanation in regards to why the MCU characters don’t glitch when they went to other universes (Strange and America in MoM, Multiverse Guardians when fighting Infinity Ultron, No Way Home). Another idea I had was that maybe what’s causing the deterioration of the Spiderverse is the tech itself, because it’s not natural. And by jumping from universe to universe using the watches and the colliders, it’s breaking the integrity of the spaces between dimensions that prevent incursions from happening (if that makes sense).

This is already getting to be a bit long, so I’ll just end it with this (but expect more from me in the future lol): Sam and Bucky are going to hate meeting even more Peter Parker variants 😂 they already have to deal with one

first of all, i'm so sorry for replying to this so late

omg kamala, riri, and hobie are in a band together? that's so cute!

oh yeah, i have a ton of ideas for spiderverse it'll just take some time for me to get to them

i've heard about the magic vs tech glitching theory before and i think it makes sense. however, loki s2 trailer has loki time slipping which looks suspiciously similar to glitching. it probably doesn't have any connection to each other though but it's fun to theorize

[mcu-vanity-blog]

GOTG 3 Review (done by the characters I care about)

Disclaimer: I didn't watch the Christmas special

Peter: Has a complete alcoholism arc in the first ten minutes for some reason? It's implied he's been drinking a lot since Endgame and then, like 15 minutes in, he says out loud "This wouldn't've happened if I hadn't been drinking" and then that's just the end of it? My brother in Christ, this movie is 2 and a half hours long, maybe cut that bit aye?

He is very much just another character in this entry. Most of his lines could easily be given to Mantis or Nebula and nothing would really change. Chris Pratt looks visibly unenthused to be here most of the time.

(New) Gamora: Honestly, could've been left out of the MCU entirely since her death in Infinity War. Zoe Saldana is the best part of every MCU film she's been in.

In this film though, she starts off with the Ravagers >> maybe learns that she's a slightly better person than she thought >> goes back to the Ravagers.

She's basically just sort of "also there" for the whole film, and is often just acting as a foil for Peter's arc (which, btw, is realising that this woman who looks like his dead girlfriend isn't actually his dead girlfriend; a fact he already knows).

Idk man, it's weird. I think Zoe just contractually had to be in this one?

Rocket: Is very much the main character of this film, but spends a good two-thirds of it asleep. You mainly see him in flashbacks where he's being abused/experimented on by the film's villain.

It's a very classic James Gunn thing I think; take a small and helpless guy and make the audience empathise with him because of how small and helpless he is. I guess it's not super nuanced in that way, but it's not necessarily an unenjoyable story for him.

It was weird that they decided to give us his origin in what is apparently the final entry of this trilogy though?

Like, "you've loved this character for 9 years now and this might be the last chance you get to see him and his friends all together again! How about we have sleep the entire time and, instead, explain exactly how he became who he was when you met him 5 movies ago!". It's kind of just silly (Dan Harmon articulates this idea really well here at 0:35-0:51).

Nebula: Gets more screen-time and characterization in this film, still not the most interesting character tho :/.

I also don't think that Karen Gillian can act :(. Would much rather have OG Gamora over her

Drax: Still just relegated to unfunny comic relief. His thing in the first movie was that his culture didn't have metaphors and he was a little careless/happy-go-lucky; he wasn't an idiot.

Ever since then? He has exclusively been an idiot.

Don't care, but feel sorry that Dave Bautista still has to play this role, even though he does very well in it <3

Groot: Again, hasn't been interesting since the first movie. He used to be this sort of mysterious, ancient, gentle giant type of character, but he's basically been just a type of sci-fi set dressing in all the movies since then.

I know James Gunn has said he's a brand new Groot from the one we see in that movie, but it's like... why? Compare the scenes of OG Groot to literally any scene of Gunn-written Groot and tell me which one is the more interesting character.

Adam Warlock: Surprisingly good. Unfortunately, he's that same James Gunn character of grown-up person with the mind of a child (think Killer Sharl in Suicide Squad), but it kinda works in this? I like that they let Will Poulter keep his accent and I look forward to seeing him written by more competent writers.

[agl03]

HEY! Did you see the New Rockstars Video? It really looks like Chloe is going to be coming to the MCU now!

Hi Anon,

I have seen it, for those who haven't you can check it out HERE.

The question of Chloe/Quake turning up in the MCU has been around as long as I've been in the fandom and I get an ask of this variation often.

Referencing the video a lot of his logic needs to be chucked out the window because:

AOS hasn't been in the 616 Universe since they noped out of there timeline in Season 5.

We have no idea how many times that the team had to go through the loop in order to save the world. From Fitz's meltdown in the flash forward it had been a fair few.

Every loop spun off its own new timeline.

Daisy did not survive in many if not all of those.

That video assumed that they were in both the 616 or 843 (whatever Universe that Scarlet Witch totally took out the illuminati).

The video also failed to take into account timing. AOS did not have a 5 year time jump as the MCU did. The only time jump AOS had from the end of Infinity War to the end of the show was in the search for Fitz....and that wasn't 5 Years. The last time we saw the team was well before the events of Endgame and everything that came after.

That's not saying we won't see her at some point.

Between the loops and the whole blowing up the timeline a few times in Season 7 there are an unknown number of universes that have Daisy and the rest of the team.

What I am saying is IF WE SEE A VERSION OF QUAKE EVER IN THE MCU IT WILL NOT BE THE DAISY/QUAKE WE KNOW FROM THE SHOW. This goes for anyone from AOS they might pull in again. The writers will likely give her a whole new backstory and could even change how her powers work. She won't have Sousa or Kora.

Not to mention there were Secret Warriors that AOS used very differently than the comics so one should be ready for that too. Yoyo and Hellfire notably.

I jealously guard the Happily Ever After we got in the finale. As much as I love Fitzsimmons I don't ever want to see them on screen again because I don't want to lose the beautiful ending they had. And I will defend it with torches and my stick.

So take all the speculation with a grain of salt and manage expectations accordingly.

[endlesstwanted]

Hello internet!

This is Chase (endlesstwanted), and I thought I should start this blog with an introduction. I haven’t kept a blog in over a decade, so please bear with me while I figure out how all of this works. The essential info about me will be above the cut, because I’m an oversharer and I don’t know how long this will enventually be.

As I said, my name is Chase, I’m over 21 years old and currently studying a vocational course which I have no vocation for. I’m in the CET time zone, based in Spain, and I like to think I’m bilingual even if my brain can’t keep up with Spanish half of the time (most of the content here will be in English). I am a non-binary trans, which influences how I view things and a friend said it would be good to mention. I’m also bisexual, which is a great excuse to be multishipper too. My sun sign is taurus, and my moon and rising signs are virgo.

My main interests are writing, languages and travelling (been all over Spain). I enjoy puzzles, funko pops, cinema, series and music. I’m not active in fandoms outside of Marvel, even though I like a lot of other media. For starters, I plan to use this blog for bingo stuff and to share what I write and post on Ao3.

Moving now onto the fandom talk, I entered the fandom world at eight years old with pop music. I then moved to tv shows when I watched Broadchurch and discovered Teen Wolf, to later follow punk rock bands and being introduced to concerts. I began being interested in cinema at the age of eighteen and eventually found Marvel a few years back.

I’m familiar with the MCU and X-Men films, and am slowly trying to find my way into the comics. I’m a multi-shipper (the rarest the pairs, the more interests I will get) and willing to read and write anyone I’m comfortable with.

That’s said, my favourite characters would have to be Bruce, Sam, Natasha, Clint and Bucky. I am fixated on others like Scott Summers, Sprite, the Peters (Maximoff, Parker, Quill, you name it), the Grandmaster, Justin Hammer and Remy Lebau (I’m into those who have no more than five scenes, as you see). My favourite projects (that I’ve watched so far) are The Amazing Spider-Man films, The Incredible Hulk, Wakanda Forever, Infinity War, Black Widow, Eternals, X-men Apocalypse and the Hawkeye series.

As I said I plan to keep this blog to share my writing and Bingo-related information. In case things go out of hand, please remember that my previous experience has been ten years on twitter, I feel in need of mentioning the other media I am fan of. This is a warning in case one day I wake up willing to fill my page with that, which you know, can happen.

I like a variety of cinema genres, going from thriller to comedy, even though I enjoy dramas the most and I’m a huge fan of Spanish cinema as well. The films I need to mention now are the ones that really got me into this world and hold a special place in my heart : the Scream saga, The Faculty, Deux Moi (French drama from 2019), Clue (1985), Marrowbone, Coherence, The Broken Circle breakdown, The Birds, and Breakfast at Tiffany's.

Talking about series now, everything has been non-stop since discovering Teen Wolf until now, with a few years gap I used to go to concerts and consume the MCU an embarrassing amount of times. The ones that have shaped me as a person are The Night Shift, Leverage, The Society, Sneaky Pete, Stitchers, On My Block, Code Black, Hunters and New Amsterdam. I’m currently watching the Chicago-verse series after watching a bunch of episodes on tv with no idea of what was going on because they played eight a night, I’ve just started Chicago Med.

As far as music goes, I thought to mention the people that have literally raised and/or been an inspiration for me at some point: 5sos, Demi Lovato, Taylor Swift, Sam Smith and Chase Atlantic. 

The list goes on and on but you don’t want me to bore you with the Spanish’s pop artists, music contests, and all the things I said I’ve recovered from and I haven’t.

If you’ve got to this point, thank you! I know I walk (write) a lot, so it’s good to know someone listening. Other sites I’m on are Ao3, TvTime, Letterboxd, NanoWriMo and Spotify.

Here you have a picture of Wanda, that is my latest addition on my funko collection ♥️ (do people use emojis in here?)

[owlixx]

Comic Todo List

So the sky is the limit now that I’ve got Marvel Unlimited access and I’ve maybe already bit off more than I can chew, but I wanted to go through the series I’ve added to my library on MU and state my interest in them so I don’t forget what I was thinking.

And to be clear, my attention span is super short right now since I just got the app. I like the idea of reading 500 xmen comics in a row…but not yet. So my balking point for issue counts is incredibly low right now but that will change after the first pass of reading a bunch of short series.

Also addendum to my last post: I read like 25 issues of Agent Venom and he’s my blorbo, that was pre college

Man Thing ‘74

22 issues is a bit much for my lack of strong interest here, but I’d like to see some old spooky stuff sometime

Black Panther ‘77

A bit long for how old it is and my current interest but I’ll get around to it.

What If ‘77

44 issues, but some real classics. I wish they had them all in one place.

Contest of Champions ‘82

3 issue crossover, no brainer

Secret Wars ‘84

Short, sweet, never read it all the way

Kitty Pryde and Wolverine ‘84

Short xmen primer

Scarlet Witch and Vision ‘85

12 issues for some classic avengers

Beauty and the Beast ‘85

Seems like a small hidden gem

Strange and Doom ‘89

One shot, easy

Infinity Gauntlet ‘91

Always surprised by how small these crossovers are lengthwise on the core story

Spiderman 2099 ‘92

Long but I want to remember to check out all of 2099

Inhumans ‘98

Short primer on them

Contest of Champions II ‘99

Too funny not to read

Garth Ennis Punisher ‘00

Not a big Garth fun but I want to give it a shot

Daredevil: Yellow ‘01

Recommended to me

Ultimates ‘02

I wanna know a little bit about ultimates

Spiderman: Blue ‘02

Recommended to me

X-Statix ‘02

Reccommended to me

Hulk: Gray ‘03

Recommended to me

1602 ‘03

It’s Neil Gaiman, Cmon

Runaways ‘03

A modern classic

Fantastic Four Origin ‘03

Curio

Warlock ‘04

Hidden gem

Loki ‘04

Website recommended it

She Hulk ‘04

App reccomended

House of M ‘05

Easy, vital read

Young Avengers ‘05

Kind of curious

Son of M ‘05

Short, seems interesting

X-Factor ‘05

Circle back to later

Nextwave ’06

Love a self contained story

Dr. Strange: The Oath ‘06

Seems like a succinct strange story

Blade ‘06

Gotta have one blade

Civil War ‘06

Never actually read the original

World War Hulk ‘07

And same here

Guardians of the Galaxy ‘08

App recommended

Punisher ‘09

App recommended

Tron ‘10

I love tron

Uncanny X-Force ‘10

Recommended to me

Deadpool Kills ‘11

Short and oft referenced

Wolverine and Xmen ‘11

Recommended to me

Infinity ‘13

Short, could be fun

Age of Ultron ‘13

Gotta know the source material

Silver Surfer Parable ‘88

One shot

Moon Knight ‘14

More good look knight

Silver Surfer ‘14

I’ll give him one run

Ms Marvel ‘14

Her origin

She Hulk ‘14

Comes recommended

Black Widow ‘14

App recommended

Elektra ‘14

App recommended, says it’s painted

All New Wolverine ‘15

Recommended to me

Vader ‘15

Gotta try one star wars

Captain America: White ‘15

Recommended to me

Scarlet Witch ‘15

App recommended

Jessica Jones ‘16

Recommended to me

Gwenpool ‘16

Recommended to me

Mockingbird ‘16

Self contained story

Civil War II ‘16

Morbid curiosity

Thanos ‘16

A bit long but could be fun

Old Man Logan ‘16

Recommended to me

Black Panther ‘16

App recommended, I’m iffy

Rocket ‘17

App recommended

Black Bolt ‘17

Recommended by everyone

Immortal Hulk ‘18

Recommended to me

Jessica Jones ‘18

Recommended, short

Venom ‘18

Apparently the best venom

Deadpool ‘19

App recommended

House of X ‘19

Short, recommended

Black Widow ‘19

App recommended

Dazzler ‘19

Recommended to me

Guardians of the Galaxy ‘20

App recommended

Empyre ‘20

App recommended

Xterminators ‘22

Recommended to me